Friday, July 4, 2008
Seattle's Scarecrow Video: A Movie Lover's Paradise
Even if youre just stopping by the city for a couple of days, one of the most interesting, diverse places you can visit is Scarecrow Video in the University District, on Roosevelt off of 52nd. The worlds largest video store is a testament to all things film lovers.
Upon first entering youll find the outside windows littered with posters and advertisements for the upcoming films and festivals in the area (of which there are many). The inside wall is lined with films for sale and if you turn around an entire alcove is devoted to old movies being sold. The counter is as long as the store and in glass cases youll find old rare films, Criterion DVDs and behind them all shelves full of imports and rarities.
Now its time to look at the collection. The bottom floor consists of three things. Youve got a wall that wraps around the entire bottom floor filled with world cinema offerings separated alphabetically by country. From Algeria to Korea, Britain to South Africa, if a countrys made a film, its probably on that wall. On the other side of that wall is a zig zag labyrinth of directors alphabetically separated and given their own space if theyve become eponymous enough to deserve it. The greats of world cinema, shock cinema, and just plain Hollywood gold line these shelves with every offering a given director has ever made (if its possible to own it).
The corners are filled with new releases, thousands of new releases which include the actual new releases out hollywood as well as any new film theyve just imported from another country, television shows fresh to DVD or an old film just now being released. The possibilities are endless and Ive spent more than a couple hours just looking through the new releases, which are shuffled out and reset weekly as every week sees a huge chunk of new films coming in.
Upstairs is your genre rooms. Adventure, Action, Comedy - the usuals are there. But youll also find literary adaptations for all you Shakespeare buffs, an entire alcove of music on film, with rock operas, actual operas and video collections. Theres an animation room, mostly filled with anime, as well as some world wide offerings from other master animators. Theres a science fiction and horror section chock full of the old films you never thought youd find on dvd, and in the far corner even a fairly well stocked adults only section.
Scarecrow boasts over 60,000 titles in their catalog, and I wonder if its much bigger than that, though theres absolutely no room left in that building to house any more movies. Its literally bursting at the seams, and if youre even a casual movie fan, you owe it to yourself to stop in and see a collection that world famous directors have stood in awe of.
I'm a self avowed unemployed writer, working on semi-constant basis to try and overcome the need to go and work a real job. I've written more than 200 articles and reviews and am constantly scouring the internet for any and all excuses and methods to make myself less dependent on corporate pay days. Visit my website at TheChatfield.com
Box Office Flops - More Than Meets the Eye?
There's something oddly satisfying about seeing a big-budget movie flop. Whenever we hear about these ambitious, special effects-laden extravaganzas going down in flames we get an odd feeling of schadenfreude.
But why is this? Does it stem from the fact that we feel manipulated, almost exploited, by the movie industry? Perhaps. After all, movie studios make a lot of coin from tweaking our emotions, be it through adrenaline-filled action films or mawkishly tear-jerking weepies.
Perhaps the best reason for our guilty pleasure at seeing a big-budget movie flop is the fact that we feel like we won a battle. We caught Hollywood trying to pull a fast one by releasing a bad movie and trying to hype it anyway -- and we weren't fooled. Gotcha. Better luck next time.
That's all well and good, but there have been many excellent movies throughout the years that, for whatever reason, failed to make it big at the box office. Hey, just because a movie didn't make a lot of money on its release doesn't make it bad -- after all, Citizen Kane barely made enough to cover the cost of a wooden sled on its original release. It wasn't until its re-release and television syndication that it became perhaps the most critically acclaimed movie of all time.
So, here's a look at two movies that didn't live up to expectations on their release, but later went on to disprove the critics:
Fight Club
Despite eventually becoming an enormous cult hit, Fight Club performed poorly on its release. With a budget of $63 million it took just $37 million at the US box office. On its release the movie drew mixed critical reactions, partly due to its violent nature. One high profile critic described it as "a film without a single redeeming quality, which may have to find its audience in Hell", and the flop cost the Entertainment Chief of 20th Century Fox his job.
Despite a tepid reception, Fight Club went on to turn a small profit at the global box office before exploding in popularity in the DVD market, becoming one of the best-loved films of the 90s. Today you'd be hard pressed to find a young man's DVD collection that didn't boast a Fight Club DVD.
Shawshank Redemption
One of the most well known box office flops of recent years, The Shawshank Redemption, based on a Steven King novella, came up against the might of Forrest Gump at the box office. Audiences preferred Hanks' feel good vehicle over this depressing prison drama and, although Shawshank garnered 7 Oscar nominations, the box office take was pathetic.
This all changed once the movie was released on video. Bolstered by the Oscar endorsements Shawshank became the most rented video of 1995, going on to become our 2nd favorite movie of all time according to an Internet Movie Database poll.
The moral of the story, it seems, is that you should probably think twice before dismissing a movie based on its box office success. Movies are always at their most enjoyable when seen on the big screen, so you shouldn't miss out on the chance to see them as they were meant to be seen simply because the audiences can't tell a Hollywood gem from fools gold. After all, these are the same people who made Ernest Goes to Jail the number one movie in its opening week. Would you trust them?
From box office flops to blockbuster films, James Shenton is a movie expert and industry analyst from New York, specializing in picking the hits from the misses.
For more movie articles, and to learn how to download movie blockbusters, please make a trip to http://www.EliteMovieDownloads.com.
Paris Hilton: Is She the New Madonna?
The answer is no. But more importantly, you may ask, who is Paris Hilton? Well, she is the grand daughter of Conrad Hilton of the Hilton Hotel fame. She first saw public notoriety when a stolen sex video of her hit the internet a few years ago and she gained a reputation as " Paris the heiress." The word Paris Hilton is now the most searched name on the internet next to Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Angela Jolie, and you get the idea.
She is now 26 years old, making a living in Beverly Hills as a model and making over $250,000 a year.
She has her own line of perfume, designer clothing line, and her sister Nicky Hilton recently opened up her own chain of hotels. Her song " Stars are Blind" from her second cd is gaining popularity among some, although she is more of a model than a singer. She is scheduled to debut on MTV this fall and hasn't made
a movie yet due to anxiety attacks on the set. The reason that she is not quite famous in the public eye as of yet is not really clear. Her publicity team tends to sell her as an image of enigmatic mystery rather than a bonafide celebrity although she has made sporadic appearances on Elen Degener show and such.
For some of us who know her on myspace, she is some what brash and ego centric, surrounded by 200 copy cat sites made by her "fans" pretending to be Paris. This is somewhat contrary to her public image where she comes off as being some what shy and unknowing about the common folks who make up her fan base. After listening to her songs one can almost assume that reggae and disco went out of style in the 80's and she really does not have classical training for a pop artist.
So the question once more is will Paris replace Madonna and Mariah Carey as a pop singer and will she become a movie star and more of a celebrity in the next few years? That is hard to say. My hunch is that
as her reputation in the public media becomes more defined, she may well become a house hold word in about 3 to 5 years, as much as it took Jackie Chan years to end up in a Pepsi commercial. By that time I will be too old to understand or appreciate the growing phenomena by that time, but then again. That's life. No, that's Paris.
Author Norman Dreamer has two websites. http://Wxyz.atspace.com
and http://Moneyetc.50webs.com.
How to Find the Best Online Piano Course
There are a lot of different piano courses on the internet but for people who don't know anything about playing the piano (which is why you want the course) it can be hard to figure out which is the best online piano course to purchase. I play the piano occasionally but my wife is a full-time piano teacher who strongly believes that learning should be fun. I've seen a lot of students who practice because they "have to" and usually they end up giving up quickly. It's a shame really because playing the piano is an amazing feeling.
Finding the best online piano course means finding a good balance between information and entertainment. Trust me, you will continue to have a long and enjoyable piano experience if you always remember that playing piano means "playing". It should be challenging but that does not mean it should be work.
The first thing you should watch out for are courses that only offer e-books and nothing else. It doesn't matter how good you are at reading, the piano is an instrument and you will need some "sound advice" (get it?). For this reason you will want to find a course with Audio files (at least 100 of them) to play along to and try to mimic, as well as Video Files to show you the exact techniques and finger placements being used. If a course doesn't have these two things then it is not the best online piano course for you, it will only lead you to frustration.
I'm not saying that e-books aren't useful. Find a course with several e-books for different levels of skill. Do not invest in a course that only gives you beginner lessons, otherwise you'll end up paying for more courses later and there's no point. The best online piano course out there will evolve with you, don't settle for anything else. My favorite style of piano is Jazz Piano because it tends to be a great deal of fun, in my opinion any course that includes a book on Jazz piano is worthwhile.
My final bit of advice to you in finding the best online piano course is to make sure there are Games! Often the trickiest part of learning piano for my wife's students is the sheet music. Many of us have never had experience with sheet music and learning all the notes and chord notations can be a real pain. There are a few computer games out there that make it dead easy and I would highly recommend them.
- Jayde Musica Pro - Notes fly across the screen and you do your best to identify them as quickly as possible. Don't worry about how well you're doing, just focus on trying to beat your previous high-score. Before you know it you'll have a great score and SURPRISE, you'll know your notes.
- Chordinator - This is a multiple choice guessing game that gets your familiar with Chords and chord notation. Again, focus on beating your personal best and you'll find that sheet music is easy in no time!
That's really all the advice I've got for you. I've been watching my wife teach for years and even she will admit that the best online piano course is a course that focuses on being Fun and Entertaining. Remember that you're playing!
Take a journey from beginner to advanced piano playing by fast-tracking your learning through Fun and Play! Visit http://www.squidoo.com/onlinepianocourse
Internet Jams
Todays technology for the recording musician has been getting better and better with each passing month it seems. Software and computer interfaces are getting much less sophisticated and more user friendly for the average Joe. And,let's not forget, less expensive.
Software like Acid Pro 4.0 is what I use to create and upload music to the web. I've been using products from Sonic Foundry
Sony) for 4 years now. Their software products are superb to say the least. I highly recommend this software to build your
music creations.
Acidplanet is where I upload my music and Video for the whole world to see and hear. As a member, you can upload music and video files for free.
Software like Vegas Video (also made by Sonic Foundry-Sony), it is what I use to create music videos.
Now, dont get me wrong this is the software I use and recommend. There are many reliable programs out there to choose from.
I've been doing some online music collaborations as of late myself. This has been a great experience for me. However, as with anything else, there is a learning curve.
So... I thought I'd pass some simple tips that will help anchor you to a basic format you can start with.
These are common sense tips that I'm giving here and they work well if you follow this basic format everytime.
First, you need you find a website that has musicians who have the same interest you do. Yes, "online music collaborations."
"Musician Forum Boards are a great place to start. Here are just a few that will help get you started."
Guitar Noise Forums has recently created a page called, appropriately enough, Online Jams and Collaborations. Its pretty much a bulletin board where you can hook up with others who are interested in putting together an online jam, hosted by
another site. You can join in on a jam or announce one of your own.
GuitarDuel.com is a site for guitarists of all ability levels to display their work. The best part is that it's free to join, but we'll have weekly contests with real prize money," says site creator, Don Harrold.
The appeal of GarageBand.com is the unique way in which it uses the Internet to find talented new groups.
Artistopia is committed to building the ultimate end-all solution for music artists, musicians, songwriters, and industry professionals to develop and do business in one spot. Armed with comprehensive membership plans, industry experts, expert technologist, business management, and solid online presence, Artistopia is leading the frontier in online artist
development.
Whenever a site such as these have a Forum Board, use them to find other artist that have the same taste as you. I usually
introduce myself right away after signing up. It doesn't take long until you find some really cool musicians that are more
than willing for an online collaboration. Acidplanet.com is where I upload my tunes.
Once I get on the Forum Board, I'll look for topics of discussions. Songwriting Topics, Recording Topics etc. This is where you'll find folks to collaborate with.
A great why to start is by taking a consensus. Throw the idea out there with some guidelines established. Remember, it's all
in the approach. Then, folks need to hear what you are working on first, just to find out if it's something they can get into...
My first "collabs" were done by posting backing tracks for others to download and do their own thing with..
Some of the top players on AP really had a good time with that, and it grew into something way beyond what I intended. Very
cool
You can do the same thing by building the backing track, and listing the lyrics you want in the song description.
You'll probably get a lot more folks involved if you let them post the songs on their own pages too...
To collaborate with others takes time. Just being vague and asking for a collaboration will probably not get very many
responses. Having your ideas laid out before hand would probably get more responses. Most good musicians I know are looking to be challenged a little when it comes to making music. Remember, it's got be worth while I'm sure.
Any "collaboration" is a community effort between people, with equal input and participation throughout the project.
A great approach would be to post a subject idea for a group project, discuss ideas posted by participating members on that subject, and come to a consensus on:
1. What the outline of the song should be (genre, instrumentation, time signature, tempo, key, section layout of verses/choruses/bridges/solos).
2. Which people will contribute what parts and instruments
3. Where the finished parts of each collaborator will be uploaded to
4. Who is responsible for collecting/mixing/mastering the parts
5. A timeline for when parts need to be done to keep the project moving smoothly
6. What profile the song will be uploaded to
7. A "project head" to oversee the entire process and make sure things are running smoothly, communication is consistent and
informative, and every participant is included equally in the project.
"Hope these tips and guidelines help you get you on the right track."
Internet Jams By Scott Thomas
Scott Thomas
Managing Editor
Guitarz Forever.com
Learn Practical Guitar Playing Tips With Learn and Master Guitar
Guitar playing is an art and not everyone is a gifted guitarist. This article is devoted to all those guitar lovers who have at some point of their life or the other, experienced a deep desire to learn playing guitar. Well, guitar learning is not as difficult as people say it is. At least with the DVD series of the Learn and Master Guitar program, the challenging task of learning to play the guitar becomes much more easy and uncomplicated.
This program has such a wide range of guitar concepts, techniques and styles to teach, that any person who follows this program is sure to learn the guitar quite fluently, confidently, flawlessly and with a reasonably high degree of versatility within a few months of starting with this program. This best part about this program is that apart from the rich knowledge that it provides through the video lessons, it also provides an unlimited amount of practical tips, which add a lot of life to your guitar playing skills, in addition to making guitar playing very effortless and simple for you.
The instructor, Steve Krenz is a very experienced guitarist, an accomplished musician and a widely acclaimed guitar teacher. He seems to know what piece of advice or what tip to provide at the exact moment when it is needed. It is as if he can read you mind and can understand your requirement completely. Here are a few tips and suggestions from Steve, that are very simple and yet without them, you would be missing out on a lot of perfection and pleasure of playing the guitar.
Guitar Tips and Guitar Tricks
Very often, beginners complain that playing the guitar hurts their fingers. Steve suggests exercises for improving finger agility and strength in the initial part of this instructional program itself, so that nobody quits learning because of this problem. He clarifies that the problem can be solved through regular practice, which encourages callus building, when the finger tips press down hard on the strings. He also points out that barring a chord is very helpful for callus building and also improves finger strength and dexterity.
In addition to introducing you to the world of chords, chord families, chord progressions, chord formulas, smooth chord transitions, chord substitution, advanced chords and altered chords, Steve also equips you with several tips pertaining to chords. He tells you to teach yourself as many different ways of playing a chord as possible, because it adds greater flexibility during cord changing and is also going to be useful when you try to compose your own music. According to him, you should carry the guitar with you and practice playing chords as frequently as possible, while watching TV or talking to a friend, as this will refrain you from looking at the guitar and playing each not. As you continue with this practice, your fingers will get used to playing fluently and with greater confidence, even if you do not look constantly look at the fretboard each time you strike a note.
This program provides many such useful tips, which we can very well do without, but whose implementation can add an element of grace and perfection to your guitar playing skills. This program provides you with such a large variety of free guitar licks and songs that you can practice as often as you like. It helps polish your guitar playing skills and takes your guitar learning process to an entirely different level, wherein you know how to apply what you have learnt. Therefore, irrespective of whether you are a born guitarist or not, you can soon start playing the guitar like any of the professional guitarists.
Guitar enthusiast, Jason C Diggs, writes quality, non-biased reviews on the net's top instructional guitar programs. His highest rating goes to Learn and Master Guitar, a highly recognized, extensive DVD guitar course. He also offers over 35 FREE video guitar licks at his site.
How to Organise a Gig or a Live Music Event - the Budget
Three times in the last month Ive been asked the question, what do I need to do to organise a gig? In reality, when this question is asked it can mean several things: How do I find a venue? How do I sort out the PA? How do I get an audience? And so on.
But there is a stage before all of this: the budget. I would suggest that the moment you start thinking about organising an event you should write a budget. This budget spreadsheet informs you of most things that you will need to consider and will also show you the risk, projected profit and the breakeven point. A sample spreadshhet is available to download from this address http://www.josaka.com/features/2005/Organise-A-Gig/Event-PandL.pdf
If the budget numbers dont look like they are working perhaps the event is not the right thing to be running. If you dont like the level of risk, perhaps you arent cut out to be a promoter.
So the start point is a spreadsheet. This should include all costs and all incomes. The key headings for costs should include: performer cost, PA, lighting, venue hire, marketing, box office costs etc. The income is likely to be largely ticket sales but dont forget the opportunity to add a sponsor to the event.
The spreadsheet will help you work out the breakeven point for the event i.e. how many tickets you need to sell to cover all costs. Every sale beyond breakeven is of course profit (exluding any box office commision). The added bonus of creating an event spreadsheet is that helps define all the key tasks to be performed.
The realisation of the forecasted numbers becoming actual figures suggests that all parties have got the deal they were looking for or agreed to. The sample speadsheet also illustrates that everyone else involved in the gig is largely earning a fixed fee and therefore the only person taking a financial risk is the promoter.
So if you are thinking of organising a live event I coomed you to work on the numbers first. This will help ensure you deliver a great show and have control over the money.
Kevin Harrington is the founder of josaka http://www.josaka.com the site that supports live music in Berkshire, UK. He is also director of marketing for Arkade http://www.arkade.com the mp3 distribution business.
Stepping Gains Popularity From Hollywood
You can always tell that a dance form is gaining popularity when you see it on the silver screen. When the Brazilian dance Lambada was the craze, there was actually a movie titled "Lambada" in1989. Patrick Swayze's "Dirty Dancing" popularized a forbidden dance of the same name.
Some other dance movies are:
"Flashdance" (1983) Breakdancing movie
"Saturday Night Fever" (1977) Disco movie
"Fame" (1980) Jazz movie
"The Turning Point" (1977) Ballet movie
"Staying Alive" (1983) Jazz movie
"Footloose" (1984) New Wave movie
Though there are a lot more that could be mentioned, it cannot be denied that most of these movies help disseminate information on the chosen dance topic. For a dance to be featured on film is a good thing no matter what critics say.
It appears the dance form Stepping is also getting widescreen attention. Here are some of the movies on this African American art form:
"School Daze" (1988) musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell.
Based in part on Spike Lee's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, it is a story about fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. This was the second feature film directed by Spike Lee, and was released on February 12, 1988 by Columbia Pictures.
"Stomp the Yard" (2007) drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007.
Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges to join a fictional Greek-letter fraternity. The film's central conflict involves DJ's fraternity competing in various stepping competitions against a rival fraternity from the same school. The film's script was written by Robert Adetuyi, working from an original draft by Gregory Ramon Anderson. The film was originally titled Steppin', but to avoid confusion over the 2006 film Step Up, the title was changed.
"How She Move" (2008) Canadian film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Cl Bennett, and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the emerging street culture of step dancing and the talents of a new generation of Canadian-born actors. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams, Sienna Films and MTV Films.
Motion pictures through the years reflect the way things were and are at the time of filming. The 1930s depression produced movies on how hard life was, the '70s showed movies on promiscuity, abortion, war and other social issues of the time, and so on.
Because Stepping is a continuously growing art form, documenting it at a certain period in time helps record its progress and changes.
Though most practitioners of this dance would say that these movies didn't do full justice to this art form, the message all these films are trying to relay is the same: Stepping is part of African American culture and is a part of the here and now.
MyStepShow.com is a free video sharing community website that features step team performances. Members can post and share video footage of their stepteam performances. Visit http://www.MyStepShow.com to learn more about the tradition of stepping.
The Secret to Fresh Sounding Improvisations
I once had a student ask me how to improvise for more than a minute or two. He had some trouble keeping the music going for longer periods of time.
I told him that the problem wasn't with knowing enough material. He already knew how to play a few chords. It was his attitude - that the trying to come up with something was what was blocking the creative flow. This can be hard to understand. After all, aren't we supposed to "come up" with something? Isn't that what invention is all about? In a word - no.
Being present is the key to allowing the music to unfold. Blocks happen because we are not present to the moment. The minute you start thinking of anything else (actually, the minute you start thinking) is when the critical voice comes in. Improvisation is spontaneous creation within limits. Successful improvisations don't happen out of thin air.
Certain decisions are made AT THE BEGINNING. For example, I may find myself playing a D minor chord. This may happen completely at random with no prior decision being made. I can, in fact, gravitate towards a particular sound. However, as I am playing this chord, I look down at the keyboard and it occurs to me that this is a D minor chord. I know that if I start with this chord I could play an improvisation in the mode of D dorian. I have all the chords of this mode to use.
Now the game is an improvisation in the key of D dorian. I could stray and go into different tonalities, but I have made a preliminary decision that the improvisation will be in D dorian. This frees me up by allowing me to focus on just a few chords. Now, I can play for as long as I like.
There is no secret to keeping an improvisation going. Keeping it sounding fresh is another thing. I could play for hours if I wanted to using just the chords in the D dorian mode, but, I think I would want to stop playing when I became bored.
The secret to fresh improvisations is always to let the music tell you where it wants to go. You need to step out of the way and allow the music to happen.
Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!
